TOP 20

Rank	Country	Railways (km)
1	United States	293,564
2	China	131,000
3	Russia	87,157
4	Canada	77,932
5	India	68,525
6	Argentina	36,917
7	Germany	33,590
8	Australia	33,343
9	Brazil	29,850
10	France	29,640
11	Japan	27,311
12	Ukraine	21,733
13	South Africa	20,986
14	Mexico	20,825
15	Italy	20,182
16	Poland	19,231
17	United Kingdom	16,837
18	Kazakhstan	16,614
19	Spain	15,333
20	Sweden	14,127

Definition: This entry states the total route length of the railway network and of its component parts by gauge, which is the measure of the distance between the inner sides of the load-bearing rails. The four typical types of gauges are: broad, standard, narrow, and dual. Other gauges are listed under note. Some 60% of the world's railways use the standard gauge of 1.4 m (4.7 ft). Gauges vary by country and sometimes within countries. The choice of gauge during initial construction was mainly in response to local conditions and the intent of the builder. Narrow-gauge railways were cheaper to build and could negotiate sharper curves, broad-gauge railways gave greater stability and permitted higher speeds. Standard-gauge railways were a compromise between narrow and broad gauges.

Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2020